New 2020 Club Car Onward HP Li-Ion

[Gregt909]

For what it’s worth. The EzGo has a 250 amp controller. The Onward has a 375 amp controller.

[fstop]

Any other news / thoughts on LiOn Onward experience or controller reprogramming or upgrades from aftermarket to get past the 20mph wall?

And just to make sure I'm not missing something - these LiOn Onwards are hitting exactly 19.6 or 20 and then leveling off? Or are they actually doing 21-22 maybe? I know I've GPSd a 2020 lifted 4 seater LA-battery Onward with just me in it and it runs exactly 20 (or maybe 19.6...) on flat ground. Good but not great if you're used to mid 20s or even more...

[Gregt909]

Originally Posted by fstop

Any other news / thoughts on LiOn Onward experience or controller reprogramming or upgrades from aftermarket to get past the 20mph wall?

And just to make sure I'm not missing something - these LiOn Onwards are hitting exactly 19.6 or 20 and then leveling off? Or are they actually doing 21-22 maybe? I know I've GPSd a 2020 lifted 4 seater LA-battery Onward with just me in it and it runs exactly 20 (or maybe 19.6...) on flat ground. Good but not great if you're used to mid 20s or even more...

It does 20 then levels off. Perhaps with lifted cart and larger tires closer to 21.

[rjs_boy]

Former CC Dealer Technician.

The LiOn cars are very new, and marginally rushed to market. I don't mean that in a very negative way, but there is quite a few unknowns for dealers/service techs regarding modifications/additions.

Technologically, the vehicle is impressive, programming is done via a bluetooth app which clubcar is developing in house, and which has quite a lot of potential. For example you can switch between 3 different DRL modes, or enable disable the horn simply from your cell phone.

Mechanically, the AC motor, controller, and gearing is unique to the LiOn cart. CC has used AC drives for a few years at least on their commercial line of LSV offerings, and this setup is very different from those products.

In our limited experience, we have been able to get the stock cars into the mid 20s by playing around with the software programming and tire sizes. Effectively changing the speed sensor with gearing, so that the controller sees the car going 19.20mph when its physically doing 24mph. Strictly for experimental purposes of course, 19.20mph is the highest they can be set to officially.

Currently the battery pack is only partially filled with LiOn cells. If you have one, or look at one, you will notice a 1P on the label of the battery shell. We have been told that they will be offering a 2P option "soon", mostly targeted towards the more commercial vehicles than the Onward/Tempo vehicles, but it will be available to all, to improve battery capacity by adding a 2nd cluster within the same housing. And to be clear, this is only what we have been told. Opening the battery shell, is potentially very dangerous and is only done at the battery factory. So please, don't try and open the case to see inside.

My opinion on the current state of the product is similar to a soft-opening or a soft launch for a new product/store. They are being very cautious and reluctant to make too many ripples or changes until they have a better understanding of how exactly the product is going to hold up, and what their failure points are going to be. Not much different to the first production run of Tesla's.

The biggest annoyance we have with the Lithium Product currently, is hooking up electrical accessories. The factory controller/Vehicle controller, only offers approx 15amps on the 12v accessory circuit, which makes adding some of the more fun accessories difficult or impossible currently. Again, I believe this is something that will fix itself as both CC and the aftermarket players get more comfortable with the product.

But unlike the LeadAcid batteries, Lithium is definitely much less forgiving, and DRASTICALLY more expensive to replace.

I love the product, but I don't think its anywhere close to replacing Lead Acid or Gas ... YET. Give it a year or two and I think it will be the dominant product choice for most applications.

[DDLWINGNUT01]

THIS is fantastic information. Thanks for the awesome write up, advice and opinion !

[shortspark]

Yes, that is great information rjs-boy. I am waiting for my new CC Onward Li-Ion as I type this - looking out the window for the dealer truck to arrive with it. It was delivered to the dealer yesterday and he said it would be all set up and ready for delivery this afternoon.

I did a speed check with an app on my phone of my old cart, which is a 2006 Precedent that I remodeled to the Phantom body last year. I live on a golf course and right outside my back door is the most level section of cart path available at my club. The top speed I measured was right at 19 mph which has always served me well over the years out here. The batteries are close to 5 year old Trojans. This speed was obtained with me as the only passenger (260 lbs) and two loaded golf bags (it is a two seat model and so is the Li-Ion I ordered). I have 10" wheels on both.

I hope to do a similar test as soon as the new cart gets here. If I can achieve the same speed of 19 mph that will be fine with me because I use a cart only for golf about three times a week. Generally, I go to the club house (a mile away), play my round (about 6.5 miles) and come home. I seldom have a passenger and never play more than one round a day. As soon as I get home I put the cart on charge until the next use and I will do this also with the Lithium cart. The course has a few dips and hills but none severe. Given all these factors I feel I need no modification to the set up of the cart which is "sport" mode and normal braking. The dealer said minor adjustments could be made if I wished so we'll see after a couple rounds which way I may want to go.

I will post a little more info once I get the cart and include a couple photos if I can.

[shortspark]

Got the cart and I am really impressed although I only drove it around the course once. The handling seems a little different, a little more "loose" than my old Precedent but I suppose that is to be expected. The torque is quite impressive and it goes plenty face for my application. I timed it just like I did my Precedent, same place on the course with the same bags and weight and I achieved 19.5 mph. There was virtually no lag as I went up slight inclines although there was a little that I noticed when the slop was more severe. There is a stop and go kind of character to the cart that will take a little getting use to but not bad. I have a twin turbo V8 that does the same thing - turbo lag, although obviously not as noticeable on a golf cart. I will be playing golf tomorrow so I will put it through some additional paces. I will try to post a couple links to photos if you want to see what it looks like (hope this works). It is beige metallic and with the briar seating which makes for a very pretty cart indeed.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0_0h...blExJejDV6lE_A
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0gpp...icFHcAV07Kz56A
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0697...xREqrljm3DiRuA
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0w6G...0-8HV_sp6abJIQ

[MrGrmpy]

I have been following your post & just recently took possession of a new 2020 LI cart. I’ve only had it for a few days but noticed the battery discharging over night. I charged it yesterday to 100% after a day of riding. I went out this morning and the battery indicator is at 90%. Do you see the same thing?

[DDLWINGNUT01]

I have not experienced this drop in battery. From a full charge, I usually see a 10% drop after a good 1 3/4 -2 miles of travel. Have you checked that the lights (pull knob) is all the way "pushed" in (off) and the key is in the off position? Just makes me wonder if the LED lights are parasitically draining battery juice.

[Gregt909]

Originally Posted by MrGrmpy

I have been following your post & just recently took possession of a new 2020 LI cart. I’ve only had it for a few days but noticed the battery discharging over night. I charged it yesterday to 100% after a day of riding. I went out this morning and the battery indicator is at 90%. Do you see the same thing?

Mine will stay at 100% for several days after charging.

Do insure that your cart is fully charged as the dash will read 100% when it nears full charge and will say “onchrg” below. It will changed to “chrged” once fully charged and the lights on your charger will no longer flash.